Perceived vulnerability to HIV/AIDS in the US and Zimbabwe

The majority of nurses in the US and Zimbabwe feel they have sufficient knowledge to protect themselves from acquiring AIDS, according to a study conducted by the authors, leading them to recommend that nursing students be allowed to openly discuss their feelings about vulnerability to contracting AIDS in the workplace.

Ethical decision making by nurses in HIV/AIDS situations

The purpose of this study was to assess the ethical decision making levels of nurses in HIV/AIDS situations. Using an adapted form of Crisham's Nursing Dilemma Test, RNs in various settings in Ohio ranked their reasons for action in responding to vignettes. Findings suggest that nurses are basing their clinical decisions in HIV/AIDS situations on practical considerations rather than on nursing principles. Education programs based on the findings from this study will enhance the use of nursing principles.

Six years after an economic crisis: child's anxiety and quality of peer relationships

The purpose of this 6-year follow-up study was to determine whether there is a long-term relationship between economic stress and childrens' anxiety and peer-related behaviors. Data were collected from 39 of the 52 families in the original study. Analysis resulted in several interesting findings. Economic stress in 1983 was a moderate predictor of state anxiety, trait anxiety, and peer rejection in girls in 1989. Descriptive evidence was provided to indicate that detrimental effects of economic stressors on the family as a unit continue beyond the initial stress event. Implications for community health nurses (CHNs) are addressed.

Ethical decision making for community health nurses

Modern health-care technology has complicated the ethical considerations of not only diagnosis and treatment, but also the social implications of diseases. Nurses are facing daily challenges as they struggle to protect and support confidentiality, justice, and beneficience for their clients. Community health nurses (CHNs), in light of their manner of primary care delivery, are often involved in these challenges. CHNs, due to their manner of primary care delivery, may find themselves in situations very different from those of other health-care workers. Often these situations have a moral component that cannot be addressed by the traditional problem-solving methods. Knowledge of ethical theories that offer frameworks for problem solving is essential as these CHNs struggle with ethical dilemmas.

An ethical model for decision-making

The increasing social and technological complexity of health care is requiring health care providers to make many ethical decisions. This article presents a brief overview of selected ethical principles and theories, as well as several decision-making models. A 10-question model to assist the practitioner in assessing the moral aspects of an ethical dilemma is described and this model is applied to a clinical situation which involves the principles of confidentiality, autonomy, and prevention of harm.

Effects of land use on the solodic soils of the Poplar Box (Eucalyptus populnea) lands

Information on soil changes under various forms of land use in poplar box (Eucalyptus populnea) lands on solodic soils is summarized and generalizations on the effects of management practices on the soil resource are made. The implications of the results for land use are considered and problems seen as requiring further research are outlined. Crazing by domestic livestock results in soil compaction which, through decreasing the infiltration rates, causes an increase in the surface run-off of water. These effects are enhanced by the killing of trees, and the associated changes in soil water content profiles are accompanied by changes in the distribution of soluble soil salts. Scalds develop in some areas. Tnese deleterious changes are reversed where there is shrub growth and livestock are excluded. The reasons for the development and persistence of scalds require further elucidation. In particular, the conditions requited for the recruitment of grass and shrub species, and the relative importance of the various pathways for salt movement in these systems, should be defined.

Changes in the distribution of Poplar Box (Eucalyptus populnea) on major soil groups: An application of the log-linear model

The association of poplar box (Eucalyptus populnea) with five main soil groups is examined. A statistical analysis, using a log- linear model, indicated that the relative frequencies of poplar box sites occumng on major soil groups changed with geographic location. The change in distribution is shown to relate to climate, as indicated by summer and winter moisture indices and the diff- erence between them. This study illustrates the use of log-linear models in ecology; such models, and more generally, Generalized Linear Models, in providing significance tests, have advantages over the non-statistical methods of gradient analysis.

Soils of the Poplar Box (Eucalyptus populnea) communities of Eastern Australia

Information on the soils of recognized poplar box (Eucalyptus populnea) communities has been collated from published and unpublished reports. Major soils have been described briefly in terms of morphology and some physical and chemical properties. Site data from a number of previous surveys was used in an attempt to identify soil type/vegeration relationships. Poplar box occurs on a very \\'ide range of soil types. Approximately half of the 1500 sites described in Queensland and New South Wales were on duple\ soils. The data indicate that poplar box prefers lighter textured soils such as uniform sands and massive earths in the western areas of its distribution but in the eastern, more mesic areas il occurs mainly on duplex clay soits.